I can’t believe it has been nearly two years since I posted here. Time flies. It’s not like I haven’t been cooking, I guess I’ve been too busy or too preoccupied to post.

I made these chicken tenders tonight though, and they were so good I thought I should document it. I found this recipe for Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders through a search on Pinterest for homemade chicken strips.

I used Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken tenders. I followed the recipe pretty closely, although I used gluten free bread crumbs with Italian seasoning and shredded parmesan instead of grated. I also added a few red pepper flakes to give it some zip and then a couple of teaspoons of Bragg’s Organic Herb Sprinkles (which I love, btw, and use often in everything). Otherwise, I cooked it just like the recipe said. At first I thought, why fry before baking, but it truly worked well and the tenders are so moist and flavorful. I didn’t make the buttermilk ranch the recipe suggested. I was just going to dip them in store-bought dressing, but then when I was at Fred Meyer a sampling station lured me into buying some of this Boars Head spicy mayo so I dipped in that and yeah, yum!

Anyway, if you want a quick and tasty chicken strip/tender recipe, I highly recommend this one.

]]>https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2016/10/02/tender/feed/0djfpdxchicken-tendersCorn’s A ‘Poppinhttps://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/corns-a-poppin/
https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/corns-a-poppin/#respondMon, 15 Dec 2014 15:45:33 +0000http://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/?p=133Continue reading →]]>In our nearby shopping mall there’s a caramel corn shop that has been there forever. That smell of sweet caramel and freshly popped corn permeates the air and fights only for supremacy with Cinnabon. So it would have been easy to skip over there and pick up a couple of bags, but my little holiday tradition is to make my own.

Terry noted the house smelled especially good as the corn was baking in the oven…and I had to agree.

This recipe comes from my former Mother-in-Law, who passed away just this past summer. I was so glad I could travel back to Kansas just a week before she died to share a few moments together. This caramel corn recipe is just one of many favorites that she passed along to me. I think about the hours spent in her kitchen in Pretty Prairie, Kansas, making all kinds of Midwestern, Mennonite and just plain good, simple food. I am grateful for those memories.

Here’s the recipe….

Crispy Caramel Corn

7 quarts freshly popped popcorn (I use white kernels and air pop enough to fill two big mixing bowls….and try and pick out any unpopped kernels)

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter or margarine

1/2 cup white (Karo) syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

[Note: the original recipe also calls for 1 cup peanuts. I never add the peanuts….but I was thinking it would be good with really any kind of nuts…cashews or pecans or almonds and maybe even a drizzle of white or milk chocolate to change it up].

Once the corn is popped and in bowls (leave room to stir in the caramel sauce), mix together the brown sugar, butter and Karo syrup in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, baking soda and salt. When you add the last ingredients the mixture will “foam” up a bit. You need to move quickly through this stage because as it starts to cool, it will begin to harden. Pour half the mixture over each bowl of popped corn. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir the corn to coat with the mixture, taking care not to break up the corn too much. Turn the coated corn out onto cookie sheets (or jelly roll pans)

Place in a preheated 250 degree oven. One sheet on the middle rack and one on the bottom rack. Bake for one hour, stirring and rotating sheets every 15 minutes. I take out one sheet and gently move the corn around and then take the other sheet out, replacing it with the first one, set the timer and then stir the second sheet and put it back in the oven. Repeat three more times to equal an hour baking time.

Turn out the baked corn back into the large bowls and let cool. If there are large chunks of corn, you can break them apart once cooled. Store in Ziplock bags or airtight containers, if you don’t eat it all first.

We have struggled over the six years since Emma came into our lives as a pup, to find treats that do not upset her delicate system.

Wheat, milk and too much protein make her itchy, exacerbate her tear stains and occasionally even upset her tummy. These are the things we know for sure (through trial and error at Emma’s sake), and there are likely others. So we tread cautiously.

I have been scouring Pinterest to find some homemade treats I could make that seem healthy and do not contain the offending items. This afternoon I made three different kinds (which she will also share with her BFF Bella as part of Christmas gifting). The smart pup she is, Emma hung close in the kitchen as I mixed and baked and cut the treats….somehow she knew this activity was for her. She has taste-tested each already (albeit small pieces so we do not inadvertently cause what we call “bad poopers,” that typically results in a trip to the bathtub for a scrub of her nether regions) and it appears she has given them four paws up.

The first ones I made are Flax/Cheese treats (they are the ones in the jar in the photo). These were super easy with just three ingredients. Ground flax is supposed to be good for all of us, actually, so I hope it sits well with Em. Here is the link to the recipe. http://www.dogtreatkitchen.com/recipes-for-dog-treats.html

I didn’t change a thing…..although I think I could have baked them maybe a few minutes longer to get them a little crunchier. I just flattened the dough on the parchment with my hands, rather than roll it. That worked fine.

Next I made Bacon Bark Strips. (to the left in the photo) http://www.spoonforkbacon.com/2011/09/bacon-bark-sticks/

Emma was glued to my side when I started cooking the bacon. I got half a pound of applewood smoked bacon at Whole Foods and that was actually a little too much….so I didn’t cook it all (T will enjoy the remainder for breakfast). I used dairy milk, not goat milk as per the recipe (note: even though milk drunk straight from the glass has made her itchy, I’m thinking that the minute amount baked into the treat will not offend….I guess we’ll see), and I didn’t cut the dough until after it was baked (and I cut it into squares with a pizza cutter rather than big strips, because she can’t eat that big of a piece). Once the bacon was cooked, I could see that it was not going to yield four tablespoons of fat, so I melted in a little organic coconut oil I had on hand to make up the difference….I think you could use regular shortening too, if you needed to….half and half maybe with bacon fat. I also think it used slightly more than three cups of oat flour. I measured 2-3/4 cups but the dough was too sticky, so I just kept adding until it was such that I could turn it out on the floured counter to finish kneading in flour to make a smoothish dough. I just put it on the parchment on the cookie sheet and rolled it out there.

I rounded out the trio of treats with a healthy Fruit and Veggie treat. http://doggydessertchef.com/2012/08/31/fruit-veggie-sticks/

I think you could really add any fruit to this maybe instead of or in addition to the banana. I used brown rice flour instead of whole wheat, and again, I think any alternative flour (if you don’t want wheat), like oat or Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten free would work. I just patted it out on the parchment on the cookie sheet like I did the flax treats and then cut the squares after it baked. I had a tiny bit of the bacon fat/coconut oil left from the previous treats, so I drizzled a little of that on the top and smoothed it out with the back of a spatula before baking (I figured a tiny bit of bacon flavor couldn’t hurt in case she had an inkling to turn her nose up at a fruity/veggie treat).

So now, Emma is set with treats for a bit. I will freeze what she won’t eat over the week and then dole them out after that, so they stay relatively fresh.

That was fun! Now, time to make a “kicked up” (peppermint schnapps and kahlua) cocoa and enjoy the Christmas classic “Miracle on 34th Street.”

]]>https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/emmelines-kitchen/feed/0djfpdxSweet EmmelineEmma treatsMust have muffinhttps://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/must-have-muffin/
https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/must-have-muffin/#respondSun, 23 Nov 2014 22:48:47 +0000http://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/?p=120Continue reading →]]>I haven’t posted for a little while. Beings that I haven’t been feeling well, it is hit and miss sometimes with cooking and I frankly, am not always that hungry, so what I’ve been preparing hasn’t really been post worthy. And sometimes I’ve just been too tired. But was feeling well enough today to make these muffins. And they are SO tasty, I had to post. Here’s the link to the recipe: http://wholelifestylenutrition.com/recipes/appetizers-snacks/the-easiest-gluten-free-and-grain-free-muffin-recipe-ever/

So for the muffins I made today (first link), I adapted it by adding one package of gluten free instant maple raisin flax oatmeal, about 1/2 cup of minced walnuts and some cinnamon and allspice. I also used unsalted peanut butter (Trader Joes). Now, I think you could really add a lot of different things to this (or the other recipe) to change it up. For instance, diced apples, shredded carrots, blueberries. And you could add other spices like ginger or nutmeg.

I just stirred all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon (didn’t try to mix with hand blender or mixer) and broke the sliced bananas up into pieces….so they are a little chunky in the muffin, but I like it that way. It made six nice size muffins (the skinnytaste recipe made 12) and I look forward to having them for breakfast.

It was quick and easy to make….so get your oven preheating and make some. It will be a good, healthy way to start your days this week.

]]>https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/must-have-muffin/feed/0djfpdxmuffinsGuac, I’m in Love.https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/guac-im-in-love/
https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/guac-im-in-love/#respondMon, 25 Aug 2014 00:34:02 +0000http://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/guac-im-in-love/Continue reading →]]>Ah avocados! I love the little green guys. So, when I got a Food & Wine email today with “Nine unexpected ways to use guacamole,” I was intrigued. And one recipe in particular caught my eye. Since we needed to stop by Safeway on our way back from seeing Wendell, I decided to get the ingredients to give it a try. And, oh, yeah, it is good. Here’s the link to the recipe. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/avocado-and-roasted-tomatillo-salsa

The site calls it “salsa,” but I think it is really a pretty straight guac. I did some things differently from the recipe though. In addition to the tomatillos, two jalapenos and the garlic, I also roasted two hatch chilies as they were in abundance at Safeway today. I used green onions instead of a leek and I drizzled all with olive oil, not standard vegetable oil. I also roasted them for more like 45 min, instead of 15. It made the kitchen smell really good, by the way. Even T was like, “what’s cooking?!”

Once the veggies were cooled a bit, I threw them into the Nutribullet with the avocado (two Hass avocados cut into cubes) and the cilantro and a drizzle of lime juice and a little bit of water. I did not add sugar, salt, cumin or more onion. I probably should have blended it in two batches, because I had to stir it around a few times to get it all to blend. And that was it. It has a wonderful taste and since I’m not going to eat it with salty chips, I think I might just add some to the lettuce salad I’m taking to work tomorrow or maybe just eat it plain with a spoon….ha ha.

My advice is, stop whatever you are doing right now….go immediately to the grocery store, get the ingredients and make this pronto. You won’t regret it.

]]>https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/guac-im-in-love/feed/0djfpdxguacTea and muffinshttps://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/tea-and-muffins/
https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/tea-and-muffins/#respondSat, 23 Aug 2014 21:58:58 +0000http://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/tea-and-muffins/Continue reading →]]>Amid the Saturday cooking blitz, I have been hydrating and cooling off with a lovely iced tea. Someone at work brought some Steven Smith Teas into our common kitchen/conference room area. I know this local teamaker is known for very high quality teas, but I had never indulged. One of the ones at work is the Jasmine Silver Tip green tea. I know green tea is really good for you, but I don’t like the taste that well of just plain green tea. Well, I thought I’d give the Jasmine Silver Tip a try the other day and oh wow, so good. Not only is the fragrance heady, but the taste is addictive. So, I thought I’d look for some when I went to Fred Meyer this morning. Alas, of the three types they had on the shelf, the Jasmine was not one of them. However, there was another Smith Tea called “Fez,” which is a green tea with spearmint and lemon verbena. Well, that peaked my interest as I love mint and lemon tea. At $11 a box…not cheap….but I threw it into the cart anyway. And I’m so glad I did….wonderful, amazing, lovely tea.

It was the perfect thing to quench my thirst as I whipped up this batch of Blueberry Donut Muffins. http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/blueberry-doughnut-muffins/

I used some of the frozen blueberries stockpiled in the freezer. I also used a Splenda/sugar blend and instead of plain milk I used the rest of the heavy cream I had in the fridge (from the scones recipe the other day). Well, I haven’t tasted one yet, but the dough was good, and they came out of the oven smelling good and looking tempting. Will take a few to Wendell tomorrow, but may have to share some with my and T’s co-workers next week.

Our morning started out by a spontaneous decision at about 6:45 a.m. to hurry up and get ready and see if we could get into a local, favorite breakfast spot — Tin Shed Cafe — before the lines started forming. Not only does it have great food, but dogs are allowed on the covered patio and they even have a menu for the pups. So, we got over there about 7:30 and didn’t have to wait at all. I had the Goat Boy scramble and a Passion Fruit Mimosa, T had the Good Boy plate and a Cajun Bloody Mary; and Emma got the chicken and sweet potato bowl (she got a to go box for half of the large portion). They have the best potato cakes that come with the breakfast.

While we were out, Terry said that we should go over and see his stepdad, Wendell tomorrow. He lives across the river in Vancouver, WA and it’s been awhile since we’ve stopped by. Since Terry’s mom passed in 2000, I’ve tried to cook up some of Wendell’s favorites to take to him when we go to visit. So we decided that I should make manicotti and a blackberry cobbler….hence the fresh blackberries in hand today. I’m also planning on using some of the frozen blueberries to make a muffin that I’ll post about later.

Since Terry’s mom was from Alabama…a good Southern woman….he grew up eating southern cooking. Being a true Yankee, I had no clue about how to prepare such cuisine. Thank goodness for the internet. A favorite site that has come through on numerous occasions: Deepsouthdish.com, yielding results that T proclaims are close to what he remembers his mom preparing. So, I went there for a blackberry cobbler recipe and it did not disappoint. My only regret is that I didn’t think to make a little one for myself. http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2010/06/blackberry-dumpling-cobbler.html#axzz3BBTBRLEJ

Manicotti stuffed and prior to baking.

On the other hand, of course the manicotti is not a southern recipe. It is one that I got from a woman at First United Methodist Church in Salem, back in the late 70s; and I’ve been making it ever since. The first time I made it for Wendell he loved it, so it is a standard to take to him now. I make a pot of #meat sauce (see a previous post) and spread a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 pan (or in this case I used a foil lasagna pan). To make the manicotti filling, I don’t really measure, but this fills 14 manicotti shells: 1 pint of small curd cottage cheese (whatever % of fat-style you like), one 8 oz package of shredded parmesan cheese, one package of shredded mozzarella cheese (or if you have a brick of cheese you can grate it yourself); parsley flakes, salt, pepper, and one lightly beaten egg. Stir it all up together. Then the best way to fill the shells is with your clean hands. Just stuff away and place the filled shells on the layer of sauce. Once the filled shells are tucked nicely into the pan, cover the whole thing with the rest of the meat sauce. You do not have to cook the shells first, by the way. I know the package says to, but seriously, there’s no need and doing it this way you get nice al dente pasta and you don’t have to struggle with trying to fill floppy, cooked pasta.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake at 400 for an hour. It’s great with a side salad and some crusty french bread, and it’s usually even better on day two.

]]>https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/berry-good-saturday/feed/0djfpdxblackberrycobblermanicottiSoup’s Onhttps://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/soups-on/
https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/soups-on/#respondMon, 18 Aug 2014 02:45:06 +0000http://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/soups-on/Continue reading →]]>It might seem a bit unusual in the middle of the summer heat to want a bowl of chili, but I did. So that’s what I whipped up tonight…some turkey chili. I really like to have a “hot lunch” most days, and I love soup. Something about soup is comforting as well as filling. I nearly always feel satisfied after a bowl of soup.

Since I’m eating low sodium, I happily created a nice chili that meets that criteria. Here’s what I did:

I sauteed the onion and garlic in the EVOO to just soften it and then added the ground turkey, stirring to break it up. I like to season the meat and so then I added all the spices and the splenda/sugar (a TBSP), the latter of which I think helps cut the tomato acidity. Then threw in the green chilies and cooked it all until the turkey was cooked through. Then added the beans and tomato sauce and after tasting it, a bit more chili powder. (I don’t measure the spices….just add to taste.) I turned it to simmer and covered it and let it simmer for about 45 min. And, voila, chili!

]]>https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/soups-on/feed/0djfpdxchiliA Sweet Messhttps://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/a-sweet-mess/
https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/a-sweet-mess/#respondWed, 13 Aug 2014 02:54:04 +0000http://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/?p=100Continue reading →]]>I realized as I was cleaning up the big mess of gluey flour and smushed blueberries on my countertop, that I should have taken a picture of the effort it took to make these scones.

That’s the trouble with Pinterest (or maybe all the cooking sites/blogs)….it all looks so perfect and pretty and yummy. You usually don’t see much of the “this is how the making went” photos. Or when you do they are always pretty and orderly. Not the chaos that was three bowls, beaters, measuring spoons, a nearly empty bag of flour and other sundry utensils. Oh, and the flour-y, blueberry-ish hands and the gluey-flour-y counter.

Still, I am hoping it will be worth it — the scones are baking as I type.

The impetus for the scones was that a couple of weeks ago a guy Terry knows gave him a half flat of fresh-from-the-field Oregon blueberries. Big. Plump. Sweet. Blueberries. So, I froze them in four bags and have been dying to make something with them. Since the heat abated today, I decided to do it tonight. I had to decide between scones and blueberry boy bait, which are both on the same site: http://lepetitbrioche.blogspot.com/2011/07/blueberry-scones.html But I decided to try the “boy bait” another day and go for the scones.

And, I don’t know but it all just kind of got away from me as I was making it. The blogger said use your Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Ha ha. I don’t have one. I have my trusty 1976 avocado green Sunbeam mixer whose cord always wants to come out of the socket mid mix; but it’s what I have been using lo these nearly four decades. So, the mixing didn’t perhaps progress as it might have had I had the Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Hence, I ended up trying to make the frozen blueberries stay in the dough (four rolled onto the floor where Emma took a curious sniff and walked away) and then add more flour to the counter (with doughy hands) and pull the rolling pin out of the cupboard.

Rolling the dough out was another bit of a trick. The frozen blueberries kept popping out like slick marbles and the amount of flour I’d managed to sprinkle on the counter was not enough to keep it all from sticking.

Nevertheless, I persevered and ultimately got my eight scones ready to bake (“All that for eight scones?”, is what I was thinking). They looked pretty good on the cookie sheet, so I guess in the end that’s what counts. Oh and how they taste….we’ll know about that shortly. [Verdict: they taste good! Worth the effort.]

]]>https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/a-sweet-mess/feed/0djfpdxsconesBaby Beet Blisshttps://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/baby-beet-bliss/
https://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/baby-beet-bliss/#respondTue, 12 Aug 2014 02:42:48 +0000http://djfpdxcooks.wordpress.com/?p=98Continue reading →]]>Ok, I feel a little silly saying that I’m happy about some baby beets. But I am. So, in my attempts to eat better for my kidneys, one of the foods on the kidney-friendly list is beets. Well, I like beets. In fact, when we ate at Toro Bravo the other day, we had this salad with some beets in it, and they were divine. I think I could have just eaten a plateful of those beets.

Anyway, so I found a simple recipe for a beet and red onion salad: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Roasted-beet-and-red-onion-salad-314481

But, you either need to roast or steam the beets. Being that it was 95 degrees today, didn’t think turning on the oven for an hour to roast beets was the best idea. But coincidentally, Martha had a post today about how to steam beets, so I looked at that and got ready to do it.

I had bought a container of baby beets at Safeway and so as I got ready to open the package and with the steamer on the stove, I gleefully read the packaging to see that it said, “baby beets, peeled, steamed and ready to eat!” Yay! I quickly turned the stove off, grabbed the cutting board and knife and in about 10 minutes I had my beet salad. I used a lovely aged balsalmic vinegar (and more than the recipe called for), plus a splash of rice vinegar, EVOO, and because I like the taste of pickled beets, I added a couple of tablespoons of Splenda/sugar blend. I added pepper, but no salt and I didn’t add the cumin the recipe called for (that seemed weird to me). And here is the result. I was eating it out of the container before it even had a chance to marinate.